The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
The Team Rules, OK!
Kayla Burt, Portland, OR – 20 at time of event (2002) It was New Year’s Eve, and her basketball team was staying over to celebrate. But Kayla never saw the festivities. She had freshly brushed teeth, and a brush with death. Loree Payne, her best friend, watched Kayla fall face down between the bed and the TV—they all thought it… Read More
Pope Benedict XVI Accepts Gift of AED
April 17, 2008 –VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI personally accepted the gift of an automated external defibrillator (AED) from Gintaras Vaisnys and Fabio Rangoni, representatives of a U.S. defibrillator company. Vaisnys and Rangoni met with the Pope at a recent papal audience where Vaisnys presented the AED while Rangoni explained to the leader… Read More
AEDs To Be Placed in East Baton Rouge Schools in Wake of Student Death
April 17, 2008–In a first for local schools, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board will soon place in its high school athletic departments a dozen automated external defibrillators donated by area medical groups The first of the devices will be donated to the School Board today in the memory of Glen Oaks High School student-athlete Shannon… Read More
Blue Sky(s) Forever
Lee Curtes, Hartford, WI – 54 at time of event (2000) Lee would find it hard to choose a better place to die. He was 12,000 feet up on top of Belle’s Camp with his skis on, looking at Vail’s Blue Sky Basin. Luckily, Lee gets to repeat the visit every year, and meet with the people who saved his life. On January 14th,… Read More
The Sacred Heart Room
Linda Dickson, Florissant, MO – 36 at time of event (2007) For Linda, it was a normal Thursday in March 2007, remarkable only for a nasty headache that lasted all day. It threatened to upset her Church board meeting that night, but not in the manner that it eventually did. Linda Dickson is a young, vibrant mother of… Read More
A Silent Secret
Barbara Copeland, Pasadena, MD – 37 at time of event (1998) Ten years ago, Barbara Copeland had a secret. It was so secret that not even she knew it. Her father may have, but he passed in the 1980s. Her first indication was an erratic heartbeat. The doctor told her she was suffering anxiety and to take some prescription pills. So she did, for… Read More
When "Regular Feels Weird"
Amanda Brown, Grand Canyon, AZ – 30 at time of event (2006) Amanda is used to living on the edge—the edge of a crater. Actually, it was the south lip of the Grand Canyon. This small community is separated from the big smoke by a helicopter trip in emergencies. A normal Sunday evening after Thanksgiving quickly turned into a lifetime of surprises… Read More
My New Best Friend-An ICD
Tammy Reather, Broken Arrow, OK – 37 at time of event (October 23, 2007) I am a healthy and young 37-year-old wife and Mom to six teens, and I am a nurse. On October 23, 2007, I was dropping off my girls at soccer practice when I experienced an SCA (sudden cardiac arrest). It was two weeks to the day since I lost my Dad. Two women came to my… Read More
Amen to AEDs!
Rose Marie Stallbaumer, Atchinson, KS – 60 at the time of event (August 18, 2007) My SCA happened on August 18, 2007, while I was attending the wedding of my nephew in Marysville, Kansas. I had been asked by the wedding couple to be the lector at their wedding liturgy. The wedding ceremony began as scheduled. When it was time, I went to the… Read More